Petra H2 revenue up 63%; losses total £10 million

Petra diamonds has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to December 31 2012, following its trading update posted at the end of January.

The mining company’s revenue was up 63% to US$151.7 million (£100m) in the period, compared to H1 of the financial year 2012, with profits from its mining activity up 26% to $41.2 million (£27.1m).

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Petra’s adjusted EBITDA was up 20% to $32.6 million (£21.5m) compared to H1.

The company’s losses totalled $15.2 million (£10m) in the six month period, down from losses of $26.7 million (£17.6m) in the first half of the financial year. Petra’s cash at bank on December 31 2012 stood at $38.2 million (£25.1m), down from $45.1 million in H1.

In terms of its operations, Petra’s production, including its fissure mines, was up 31% to 1,247,522 carats. The mining company also yielded 285 carats from 800-plus tonnes in Botswana, with exploration in the surrounding areas set to continue.

Changes have also taken place at director level, with Tony Lowrie appointed as senior independent non-executive director in September 2012 and Dr Omar Kamal stepped down as a non-executive director in February 2013.

Johan Dippenaar, Petra’s chief executive, said: "Petra enters the second half of FY 2013 in a strong position to continue its robust long-term growth trajectory, with fully funded expansion programmes progressing as planned, well controlled costs and significantly higher sales expected in H2 due to seasonal tender timing. Our FY 2019 target of five million carats remains on track."

Looking ahead, Petra said it expects carat sales to be "substantially higher in H2" than in H1 due to the seasonal timing of Petra tenders. Five tenders are to be held in H2, as opposed to three tenders in H1.

These latest figures do not include Petra’s fissure mines as assets held for sale, with these figures included in the results within loss from discontinued operations section.